耽误不了您几分钟
“we won't hold you up much longer.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
蒂诺先生
“Mr. Tino,”
耽误不了您几分钟
“we won't hold you up much longer.”
请让我
“Please let—”
“Please do not turn me away, just give me a tiny moment of your time.”
When approaching high-status individuals, Chinese speakers deliberately minimize the perceived cost or burden using the honorific 'Nin' to make rejection harder.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
will not take up much of; will not hold up
A potential complement phrase commonly used to reassure someone that a request won't waste their time.
a few minutes
Often used idiomatically to downplay the time commitment needed for a conversation.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“It won't take much of your time.”
“Just a short talk. We won't keep you long.”
“before they know about it.”